Wielder of the Sazeto
by Zashire
Summary: What happens when Sakura finds Naruto before Kakashi at the Valley of the End? What if they ran away from Konoha?...NaruSaku main pairing...Others later on, probably OCxOC. Formerly known as 'Living on the Run.'
1. Runaway

**Summary:** What happens when Sakura finds Naruto before Kakashi after Sasuke and Naruto's battle at the Valley of the End? What if they ran away from Konoha? NaruSaku main pairing. Others later on. Probably OCxOC.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto. I _do _own a few characters that come in later, but I won't tell you them just yet.

Wielder of the Sazeto

Chapter 1: Runaway

By: Zashire-hime

The soft rain only added to the tears in a young pink haired girl's eyes. She was crying for her fallen teammate. She was part of the rescue team that was sent out after five Gennin went on the 'Sasuke Retrieval Mission.' She was there to witness Sasuke and Naruto charge at each other with their most powerful attacks. The pink haired girl could do nothing but scream for them to stop, but her plea fell on deaf ears. When the two attacks met, she was blown back by an explosion made by the Rasengan and Chidori colliding. She slipped into unconsciousness when her head hit the trunk of a tree. After twenty minutes or so, she woke up and looked around. Sasuke was no where to be found. Naruto on the other hand, was lying sprawled out on his back with a second hitai-ate lying next to him. It was Sasuke's.

The pink haired kunoichi ran over to the blonde's side and kneeled down to see if he was alright. He wasn't. The girl couldn't find any sort of a pulse and assumed the worst. Her teammate was dead. Slowly tears formed in her eyes as she remembered all of the times when he would ask her on a date, and she would reply by yelling 'BAKA!' and bonking him on the head. That wouldn't happen anymore. She was able to recall all of the times when he would give everyone around him encouragement without even knowing it, like the Chuunin Exams. None of that would happen anymore.

"Why...why did I have to make him make that stupid promise?" she sobbed. All of his idiotic smiles came back to mind, which made her cry even harder. '_Sasuke's gone. Naruto's gone. What do I do now? What can I do? I couldn't even stop Naruto from...from...dying._' Her tears were beginning to soak her shirt even more than the rain. Nothing could bring either one of them back, nothing short of a miracle.

**oOoOo**

"Pakkun, how much farther?" asked a man in his twenties with silver hair that seemed to defy gravity.

"Not much...Wait, I'm picking up another scent! But on top of that, the other two are dying down, probably because of the rain. We need to pick up the pace, Kakashi!" the small tracking dog replied.

The ninja and dog both started to pump chakra into their legs to speed up. Kakashi was exerting so much chakra that some tree branches started to snap as he leapt off them, and onto the next.

"The Valley of the End is just up ahead, Kakashi," the nin-dog informed his summoner.

After a few minutes, they came upon the Valley of the End.

"Where are they?" asked Kakashi.

"I don't know, but whatever scent I picked up earlier is gone too," Pakkun replied as he looked around the valley for any signs of life.

"Where could they have gone? I assume that it was Naruto and Sasuke's scents that you picked up, but I wonder who the third's was..." Kakashi trailed off as a kunai was sent right over his head and pinned itself into the wall he was near. It had a note tied to it. Kakashi pulled it off the kunai and read it.

_Kakashi-sensei,_

_You may be wondering where Naruto and Sasuke are right now. I'm sorry to inform you, but Sasuke got away. He's most likely on his way to Orochimaru's. Naruto on the other hand is safe with me. I thought he was dead because I arrived at the fight just in time to see a clash of Naruto's Rasengan and Sasuke's Chidori. I was thrown back and knocked out. When I awoke, Sasuke was nowhere to be seen, while Naruto laid lifeless at the bottom of the valley. I checked his pulse, but there was none to be found. Suddenly, red chakra started to seep out of Naruto. I know it was Kyuubi's because he made contact with me. He gave me a scroll to give to Naruto when he woke up. I was scared at first, but was then overjoyed by the fact that Naruto was still alive. Kyuubi said that the only way to save Naruto was to transform him into a half-breed. Kyuubi now only has five tails, while Naruto has four. Naruto also has a couple of fox ears on the top of his head, they're cute! Aside from that, I have decided to take Naruto with me. Where we are going, I can not say. Please tell Lady Tsunade not to worry, I will keep him safe. He would not want to go back to a village that treats him like a nobody. In the time taken to read this message, our scents will be gone thanks to the rain. Don't try to follow us. You will most likely see us again, but when, I don't know. So until then, goodbye._

_Sakura_

'_Naruto, Sakura...I'm so sorry. I wish I could have stopped Sasuke from leaving the village. None of this would have happened. I guess the only thing to do is to tell Lady Tsunade and Jiraiya-sama about this. Good luck you two...' _Kakashi thought.

"Kakashi, what does it say?" Pakkun asked, slightly confused.

"Sakura has taken Naruto somewhere, but didn't say. Sasuke has left to Orochimaru, and almost killed Naruto. This note just confirms that Naruto and Sakura are still alive," the ninja stated, leaving out the part about Kyuubi.

"Should we go find them?"

"No, they said not to, and their scents are long gone. I'm gonna head back to the village," Kakashi replied.

"Alright," the dog said, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

'_Wherever you two are, please be careful. Kami-sama, protect them._' the silver haired Jounin thought. He then took off into the trees in the direction of Konoha.

**oOoOo**

"Huh? Where am I?" asked a blonde haired ninja as his eyes cracked open to see something pink lying on top of him. He appeared to be on a very comfortable bed. The sun was peaking over the hill from what he could see outside of the single window of the bedroom he was currently in.

"Oh, you're awake...NARUTO! YOU'RE AWAKE!" Sakura shouted as she realized what was going on and jerked into a sitting position.

"Ow! My ears! Sakura-chan, why are you yelling?" Naruto asked while trying to see if his eardrum was still intact, but found that he had no ears. He also noticed four fluffy tails that were coming from behind him. They were a nice golden color that was a bit darker than his hair. They were also tipped with the color of a bright orange.

"Oh, sorry Naruto-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, while mumbling 'sorry' over and over again.

"It's okay! Hey, where are we? Where are my ears? Why do I have these tails? And since when do you call me Naruto-kun?" asked a very confused Naruto.

"Well, to start things off, we're in Wave Country. We're at Tazuna's house, you know the bridge builder? I'll explain the whole deal with the tails and ears later. Anyway, I just called you Naruto-kun because you...I don't know..." she trailed off.

"Wow, the last thing I remember is being at the Valley of the-SASUKE! Where is that teme!?" Naruto yelled.

"Naruto-kun, please calm down a bit! Also, please don't mention Sasuke..." she started trailing off again as she looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan. I just can't believe that he went to Orochimaru! Stupid teme! I'm sorry for breaking my promise to you Sakura-chan," the blonde apologized, also looking at the ground. We his eyes met Sakura's feet; he saw wet spots on the floor, and looked up. He saw that Sakura was crying. "Sakura-chan, what's wrong?"

"Don't a-apologize to m-me...Sasuke nearly k-killed his best friend. I should be sorry for what I did to you over the years. Sasuke nearly killed you, and it took me that long to realize how kind you were for doing all of those things for me since the Academy days. I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun!" she yelled as she flung herself onto the blonde once more.

"Owwww! Sakura-chan, that hurts!" blonde tried to push her off of his ribs that were apparently still sore from his battle with Sasuke.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't mean to!" Sakura said while getting off the bed.

"It's okay. Now, do you mind telling me what's up with these tails? And where are my ears?" Naruto once again became confused.

"Oh, right. You were just about dead when red chakra started to seep out of your body. You grew four tails, and your ears are now in the form of a fox's at the top of your head. I'm guessing you have some sort of enhanced senses. That's probably why you reacted so badly when I shouted. When the red chakra came out, Kyuubi's head formed above your body. He told me that to save you, he had to turn you into a half-breed. He now only has five tails. A scroll somehow materialized in my lap. I was told to give this to you when you woke up. So here you go," Sakura explained while pulling a red scroll out. "He also said that it was a blood scroll."

"Thanks," Naruto replied before biting his thumb, and rubbing some blood onto it. When it was unsealed, he opened it and read it to himself.

_Kit,_

_I made this for you so wouldn't kill that puny brain of yours while trying to get to me. In here are a few jutsu that only you can use, thanks to your new fox features. Also, you will have enhanced senses from now on that will take a while to get used to. If you focus chakra into your eyes, you will be able to use them to see through things, much like the Byakugan, but without being able to see others' chakra systems. This will go up to five hundred feet in each direction. Your hearing will be about five times stronger than what it used to be. Lastly, your sense of smell will be about three times stronger than that Inuzuka mutt you faced in the preliminaries._

_Your tails are going to come in handy many times during battle, Kit. They will be your ultimate defense, much like Gaara's sand. They are better than his sand because they react to ALL speeds, not even Maito Gai or his "clone" will be able to break through it. For offense, the tails store next to infinite amounts of chakra in them. This will be a change for you. Rather than getting chakra from me directly, you will be getting it from the chakra that I put into your tails. They have a few more uses, but you will discover them later on._

_As a last note, you will have some trouble contacting me now. Since I only have about half of my original power, and the seal still remains the same, I was pushed farther back into your mind. You will most likely only be able to contact me in a life or death situation. I don't know why, but I decided to leave you a library of jutsu. It is located in the spot that I used to live in. You will only be able to open the scrolls when you have reached the power level they require. That's about it. By the way, your future mate already knows that I'm sealed inside you. She was scared at first, but got over it. See ya, Kit._

_Kyuubi no Kitsune_

_Demon Lord_

"What does it say?" Sakura asked after waiting for him to read the scroll that she handed him.

"Here, you can read it," the blonde shinobi replied. He handed her Kyuubi's scroll, and she began to read.

When she was done, her eyes widened. "That's a lot of power, Naruto-kun!"

"Yeah! Now I'll be able to beat anyone! I'll totally kick butt!" Naruto shouted with enthusiasm that made Sakura smile.

"Okay then. Tsunami-san told me to tell her when you wake up. You've been out for almost four days. I had to drag you from the Valley of the End all the way to Wave! Sorry if you're still sore, I literally dragged you by your foot all the way here. When I came here, I saw a plaque dedicated to the hero of the bridge. Want to know who it is?" Sakura asked cutely.

"Sure."

"You, Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed, proudly.

"WHAT!? ME!?"

"Yep! It's called 'The Great Naruto Bridge!' You really changed the views of people around here, Naruto-kun. You're a hero," the pink haired girl whispered the last part.

"How can I be a hero?"

"Naruto-kun, you've always been a hero! Ever since the Yondaime sealed Kyuubi in you! Even if you don't think you are, I do," she said with a smile. A single tear escaped Naruto's eyes. "Naruto..."

"I'm fine. Why are you being so nice to me Sakura-chan?" the blonde asked, returning his stare to the floor.

"Do I need a reason? You're nice to me, so I'd like to return the favor. Anyways, let's go get breakfast!"

"Sure thing!"

Passing the mirror, he noticed that his ears looked the same as his tails, but reversed. They were orange except for the tips which were golden.

So with that, the two ninja ran downstairs towards the kitchen to, well, eat.

**oOoOo**

**A/N: **This is my first fanfic. I don't think I'm that good of a writer. Please give me constructive criticism. If you hate it, don't flame, tell me what's wrong. I know it was kind of rushed. Sorry. Well, see ya next time!

Zashire-hime


	2. Reunion and Surprises

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto because if I did I'd be swimming in bags of money.

Wielder of the Sazeto

Chapter 2

By: Zashire-hime

The village of Konoha was usually a quiet and peaceful place in the morning. Civilians and ninja alike could be seen walking down the roads from shop to shop, enjoying the beginning of a new day.

Kakashi on the other hand, couldn't feel this sense of joy whatsoever. Only twenty minutes ago had he returned from the rescue mission that he had taken upon himself to complete. Unfortunately for him, he returned empty handed. No Sasuke. No Sakura. No Naruto. No nothing. His feelings about his team running away were only a fraction to those of the Hokage.

"They did WHAT!?"

Kakashi cringed back in fear before responding, "Uh...yeah. Here's the note." He handed Sakura's note to Tsunade, still fearing her.

After she read the note, she had an understanding look in her eyes. '_So she chose to leave with him, eh? I wonder how the council will react to this. Not in a good way, that's for sure. Just take care of him, Sakura.'_ She then dismissed Kakashi after receiving a report of what he saw on the mission he assigned to himself. Leaning back in her chair, she mentally groaned at the thought of dealing with the council. '_Oh well, I'll have to do it sooner or later. Preferably later. Too bad for me that wish will never come true._' She was brought back into the real world when she heard a knock on the door.

"Tsunade-sama, may I come in?" asked the stranger.

"Yes, what is it Shizune?" Tsunade asked, slightly annoyed. Shizune walked in and shut the door behind her. In her grasp was a folder with nothing on it. She handed the folder to the Hokage, who opened it and read silently.

_Hokage- The council requests your presence at the council room for a meeting in thirty minutes. You may already know what we will be discussing, but this meeting is necessary._

_­­_'_Like I didn't see that coming from a mile away._' Tsunade then handed the folder back to Shizune and said, "You can tell the asses that I'll be there. Damn council."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," she replied before walking out the door after her dismissal.

"Sakura and Naruto, you two are causing problems. Someday, you may just be the death of me," the Hokage said. She then grabbed a bottle of sake from her desk drawer and thought, '_What's a better way to blow off thirty minutes than drinking?_'

**oOoOo**

"Hey, Tsunami-san! Long time no see!" Naruto shouted as he raced down the stairs with Sakura.

"Oh, you're awake already? I thought with all those injuries you'd be out for at least a week or two," Tazuna's daughter replied before turning around to see the two ninja. "Oh Kami-sama! What on earth are those? Tails? Cat ears? Where did they come from?"

"**Cat!? I'm a fox!" **Kyuubi called out in Naruto's mind.

"Ah damn it. I forgot to put the Henge back on you, Naruto-kun," Sakura muttered. "Tsunami-san, please don't worry, we'll explain them at breakfast."

After that, Tsunami settled down. Too bad Inari came in about three seconds later.

"Hey! Naruto! You're awa-TAILS!? CAT EARS!? WHAT'S GOING ON!?" Inari just had the shock of his life. One of his only friends looked like he was part animal.

"**I'M A FOX! DAMN IT!" **Naruto was starting to get a headache. '_How on earth is the fox getting to me?'_

"Not again..." Naruto was about to explain what happened when Tazuna suddenly walked in.

"Tsunami, wh-WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!? WHY DO YOU HAVE CAT EARS!?" the bridge builder said in a volume that could wake up the dead. Naruto was now curled up in a ball on the floor holding his ears.

"**You three will be the first to go once I get out of here!"**

"Stop yelling! You're worse than Sakura-chan!" Naruto then realized what he said and thought, '_Uh...probably shouldn't have said that._'

Sakura cracked her knuckles, making Naruto cower back in fear. Inner Sakura was shouting, **"CHA! I'm gonna kill you Naruto-kun!" **

"Okay that's enough. If you don't stop this the food will get cold. Also, Naruto, that includes ramen," she said with a smirk that would put the Sasuke to shame.

"NO! RAMEN! I'M COMING, MY PRECIOUS!" the blonde called as he ran to the kitchen.

One thought was going through everybody's mind was, '_What a baka._'

**oOoOo**

On a more serious matter, let's head back to the council room where the Hokage had just arrived to discuss a certain issue.

Naruto.

"You want to WHAT!?" Tsunade nearly blew up on the entire council.

"Yes, we have already agreed that ANBU should be sent to track him down, and kill him on sight. He has become a danger to this village and all of the people in it. Also the Haruno with him will be taken down as well. She has obviously been brainwashed by the demon. If other villages found out about this matter, it could mean serious problems for us in the future. They would try to capture him and use him against us," Danzo said. '_Although, I will use my ROOT division to bring him back, and then turn him into Konoha's ultimate weapon! No one will stand in my way! Not even the Hokage!_' He mentally chuckled maniacally.

"No! I will not tolerate this! Naruto is a Konoha shinobi. He has saved this village on multiple occasions. Also, Sakura has not been brainwashed. She's just his teammate!" Tsunade exclaimed, all the while giving death glares to each of the council members.

"It's doesn't matter what you say! The council has already voted on the matter, and it was unanimous. Uzumaki and Haruno will die once they are caught! You have no effect on this decision! This meeting is over," the leader of ROOT said once more. All of the members on the council left the room, leaving the Hokage to herself.

Tsunade punched the table and left the room with tears streaming down her face. When she entered her office, she sat in the chair and looked out the window. '_Stupid old farts. I can't let them get to Naruto and Sakura. They won't stand a chance against squads upon squads of ANBU._' Suddenly, Jiraiya appeared at the window. More like slammed into it. Tsunade ran over to the window and opened it.

"What did you get yourself into this time, you old perv?" the Hokage asked in an annoyed tone for she knew that he was peeping once again at the local hot springs in Konoha.

"Uh...nothing," he said with mild guilt in his voice. Deciding to change the subject he said, "What's this I hear about Naruto leaving the village?"

"Oh...here," she whispered as she handed Jiraiya the note Sakura left. Jiraiya read it and was somewhat surprised.

"I didn't know Kyuubi could do that, wow. I think I have an idea of where they might be going. You see, when I was training Naruto, he told me about this incident in Wave Country. He was apparently assigned a C-rank mission that turned into an A-rank later on," Jiraiya explained while trying to remember some things that Naruto had said to him.

"You think he's in Wave? Why would he go there even if he had a mission in the past to that country? From what I've heard, Wave just got out of a crisis when Gato was killed," asked a slightly confused Hokage.

"Yes, he was on the mission when Gato was killed. The country sees the little brat as a hero, believe it or not. He helped Tazuna, the person he was assigned to protect on the mission, finish the bridge. The country went from poor to prosperous in a month, thanks to the bridge. They also name it after him, 'The Great Naruto Bridge,'" said the toad Sannin.

"Okay then, Jiraiya. I'm assigning you a mission to go check out Wave, and see if you can find Naruto and Sakura. I want you to stay with them, and them from any ANBU that go after them, got it?" the Hokage said in a commanding tone.

"Yes, Tsunade-_hime_," Jiraiya said using his childhood nickname for her. Before she could punch him, he jumped out the window and took off.

The Hokage had an angry look on her face and muttered 'stupid pervert' for several minutes before she calmed down and sat in her chair, once again. '_Good luck, Jiraiya. Please keep them safe for me. I don't want to lose them._' Memories of Dan and Nawaki came to mind which made her cry. '_Not anyone, not anymore._'

**oOoOo**

Unbeknownst to her, two people were listening in on her conversation with Jiraiya. The duo were using an invisibility jutsu and hiding their chakra signatures so well that not even the Sannin could detect them.

"So that's where the demon is heading, huh?" said the taller of the two shadowy figures as they jumped from building to building.

"So it seems," replied the second.

"Danzo-sama will be most pleased with our work, will he not?" the first said in a quiet voice, just above a whisper.

"Indeed."

To two figures soon faded from any and all view as they continued on in the darkness of the night.

**oOoOo**

"Oh, so that's why you have those tails, eh? Sorry for the over reaction earlier. Heh heh," Tazuna said after the explanation while rubbing the back of is head in embarrassment from his outburst.

Naruto waved it off. "No problem, I almost had the same reaction when I saw myself in the mirror," he said with a chuckle.

"So what are you going to do now?" asked a curious Tsunami as she continued eating.

"Honestly, I don't know. When I found Naruto-kun at the valley, he was hurt badly. The fox healed him mostly, but there were still a few injuries left. I didn't want to take him back to the village because the civilians and ninja both would have hurt him for not bringing Sasuke back. So, I chose to come here. Mainly because I remember how you told us to come back and that we were welcome here anytime. I never planned ahead any farther than this. How long can we stay here?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, indeed you are. As for how long you can stay, I don't think it matters. As long as Tsunami doesn't mind cooking for two extra people," the bridge builder said, glancing over at his daughter.

"It's fine with me. I'm sure Inari would like it too," Tsunami said with a smile.

"Yeah! Naruto-nii-san, will you stay? Please?" the little boy said while almost begging on his hands and knees.

"Sure. I'd love to," the blonde gave one of his foxy grins to Inari.

"Well, Naruto-kun and I have to shop for some shuriken and kunai. Could you please tell us where the closest weapon shop is?" asked Sakura.

"Yeah, it's about three blocks down from here. Turn to the left, and then you're there," Tazuna said, making hand motions while he did.

Sakura thanked Tazuna and helped Tsunami clean up the kitchen, while Naruto changed into a new pair of clothes. He now wore a black t-shirt with orange shorts. When he stepped downstairs, Sakura thought she was daydreaming because he wasn't wearing a blinding orange colored jumpsuit. No, not even his new shorts. They were orange, but a darker shade of it so he wouldn't be their next enemy's target practice.

Naruto henged into his old self (without the tails and ears), and then followed Sakura out the door. The two of them followed Tazuna's directions and found the weapon shop. They each bought three sets of kunai and shuriken, the first for their holsters, and the second and third for spares. Naruto begged Sakura to browse around the shop for a bit because it wasn't overpriced like the things in Konoha were for him. The owner of the shop said that Naruto looked like someone who would do a good job with a sword. He was about to reach for one when he felt a pulse of chakra come from another.

"What the hell was that?" Naruto asked the store owner.

"What?" replied the owner, confused.

"I felt a pulse of chakra coming from that sword over there," Naruto said, pointing to a red and black handled, silver bladed sword.

"Impossible..." the store owner said.

"What? Why?" asked Sakura just catching up with the conversation as she walked over.

"That sword is said to only call out to those who can truly use it. The last person to wield it was...Uchiha Madara."

**oOoOo**

**A/N: **Dun, dun, dun! Okay, sorry. Had to get that out of my system. Anyways, please read and review. I'll update soon, hopefully. See ya!

By the way, here's what some of the Japanese words/suffixes mean:

Baka: idiot/stupid/fool

-hime: princess

-kun: familiar person – male

-chan: familiar person – female

-nii-san: brother  
-san: Mr., Miss, Mrs., etc.

-sama: someone usually of a higher rank

Zashire-hime


	3. Hunters and the Hunted

**Disclaimer: **I. Don't. Own. Naruto. Get. That. Through. Your. Thick. Heads.

Wielder of the Sazeto

Chapter 3: Hunters and the Hunted

By: Zashire-hime

"U-Uchiha M-Madara?" Sakura asked, stuttering through his name.

"Uchiha!? Sakura-chan, is he related to Sasuke!?" the blonde nearly shouted, thinking he was on to something. Her only response was a nod.

"Yes, Uchiha Madara was the founder of the Uchiha clan. He owned this sword before he disappeared after his fight with the Shodai of Konoha," the weapon shop owner explained.

"What happened to him? I know that the Shodai won because they were having a battle over who would rule Konoha, but that's all our textbooks said back at the Ninja Academy," the pink haired girl said, recalling everything that she learned about the fight.

"Sorry, but I can't answer that. No one knows exactly what happened because the Shodai refused to explain. He carried his reasons for refusing to his grave, so it is likely that we will never know the truth. The only thing I can offer to you two is the information about the sword," the shop owner said in a slightly depressed voice.

"Can we please stay to hear it Sakura-chan?" Naruto begged.

"You can, I saw a clothes shop on the way here. Meet me there in half an hour, okay?" the girl responded with an excited glint in her eyes.

"Okay, sur-" the blonde started coughing from the dust cloud his friend had kicked up while she ran out the door. "That (cough) was (cough) weird." The shop owner only nodded.

"Okay, about the sword..." Instantly, Naruto was at the shop owner's feet, eager to listen (there's a first time for everything). "As I was saying, let's start with the name of the sword."

"Name?" asked Naruto, confused as to why an inanimate object would be named.

"Yes, name. Many swords are referred to by names when they have a legend to follow them. Unfortunately for this one, almost everything about it is unknown, just like its previous owner," the man explained, glancing down at Naruto to see if he was paying attention. To his extreme displeasure, the boy was almost in his face to try and suck up as much information about the sword as possible. "Um...yeah. The name of this sword is the Sazeto. It is said to be able to cut through anything because of its element, fire. I'm not sure how, but it's also supposed to be the only fire elemental weapon that is not affected by water."

At this Naruto's mouth dropped open. '_Fire not affected by water? What the hell is this thing?_' After Naruto picked his jaw back up off the floor, the shop owner continued his explanation.

"Yeah, it is pretty amazing, huh? Well I'm sorry to say, but that's all I know about the sword other than Madara was the only known wielder of this sword," the shop owner said as Naruto walked over to look at the sword. "By the way, if someone who is not the true wielder of the sword tries to touch it, they will receive first-degree burns."

"WHAT!? It's that dangerous!?" the blonde shouted, clearly not believing what he just heard was true. The shop owner nodded.

"Yep, I had to find that out the hard way," the man said while scrunching his face up at the unpleasant memories.

"Wait a second, how did you get it here?" Naruto asked.

"Well-" the store owner was cut off by another man walking out from the back section of the shop.

"I can answer that for you," the man said with a smile. When Naruto saw him, he became confused. He looked to be about thirty years old or so, but that wasn't what caught the blonde's attention. No, what caught his attention was the black blindfold that matched the man's pitch black hair, which the man wore around his head, covering up his eyes.

"Hey, why do you have a blindfold on?" Naruto asked rather abruptly.

The man's face turned downcast. "I'd rather not answer. By the way, my name is Orano Raiden. Who are you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you, Raiden-san," the blonde replied. "What were you going to say?"

"Ah, yes. I brought this sword here myself after finding it at what was left of the Valley of the End after Madara and the Shodai's battle. When I first touched it, my hand was burned horribly like Ganido here said," Raiden explained, indicating the shop owner. "After I managed to lift it in the air with a jutsu, I brought it here since it was the closest place to the Valley of the End."

"I am curious as to why an ancient sword would be calling out to a teenager like you when its last owner was one of the most powerful men in the history of our world. You don't look like you could even take on a missing-nin of C-rank or higher," said Ganido, not believing a squirt like the blonde could even be considered a ninja.

"Underestimation will be your downfall. I'm sure you learned that back when you were a ninja, Ganido," Raiden stated in a mild tone of voice.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," muttered Ganido.

"So, does that mean I can take the sword?" asked a cheerful Naruto.

"If you are its owner, then by all means take it. Do you have any idea how hard it is to clean that thing when you can't even touch it!?" Ganido said, raising his voice while his left eye was involuntarily twitching.

"Heh. Yes, Uzumaki-san, you may take it if you prove to be the sword's true wielder. Follow m-"

_BOOM!_

"What the hell was that!?" Naruto shouted his question.

"I don't know, but it came from the southern part of the city," Ganido responded as Naruto took off. "He left quickly."

"Indeed."

**oOoOo**

"Let me go!!" screamed a pink haired girl as she bit the arm of the ANBU who was carrying her.

"Oww! Damn you bitch!" yelled the Bear-masked ANBU as he knocked her out with a fist to her head.

"Heh, we got his girl," said one of the ANBU.

"Yes. Now, all we need to do is wait for the demon to take the bait," replied the second.

**oOoOo**

"SAKURA-CHAN!? WHERE ARE YOU!?" screamed Naruto at the top of his lungs, jumping from rooftop to rooftop after finding an empty clothing store.

He continued leaping until he heard a voice, "She's over here! Come and get her if you can!" He followed the voice for a few minutes before he found himself in a forest clearing. The blonde looked around and saw four cloaked men one hundred yards away.

Naruto dashed through the trees until he came upon them.

"Scatter," one of the ANBU whispered into his headset. His team got the message and flew to the trees only moments before the so-called 'demon' appeared. The 'demon' was actually looking more like a demon now that the Henge was dropped. With each passing second, Naruto grew more and more feral. His whisker marks darkened and became about as thick as possible. The blonde's eyes turned into blood red pools with fox-like slits in each of them. His tails started to become red on the tips indicating Kyuubi's help to the half-breed. Possibly the most frightening thing of all was the red chakra that was swirling around the blonde's body. It was the color of blood. The only thing that matched the chakra was the half-breed's roar. It sounded throughout the entire city. None of them had ever been so scared in their entire lives. At least not as scared as the four ANBU who were about to piss there pants. If they thought it couldn't get any worse, then they were sadly mistaken.

"**I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!" **the demonic voice sent a very cold chill down all four of the ANBU's spines. There was clearly now human thought left in the mind of Uzumaki Naruto, only animal instinct. Only one thought went through Naruto's mind, and that was, '_Kill by all means necessary._' No one could even tell if he was there to protect his friend or to enjoy a hunt.

Naruto jumped into the tree where he first sensed an ANBU. His claws didn't even touch the man, but his chakra did. Instantly, his head was removed from his shoulders. Poor fellow was dead before he hit the ground.

Next was the ANBU in the tree right next to the unrecognizable man. The half-breed lurched towards the man who thought he was prepared. The dog-masked ANBU who the 'demon' was attacking launched ten kunai in the blonde's direction, and smirked when they hit. Too bad for him that the four tails of the half-breed took all of the impact when the kunai landed. His overconfident smirk turned into downright fear after seeing all ten of his kunai blocked. When Naruto's tails caught the kunai, the blonde let out a killing intent so huge that al three ANBU dropped to their knees. In two swift swipes of his claws, all but the bear-masked ANBU was beheaded. Their bodies dropped to the ground with their heads landing next to them, each having a look of absolute horror on them.

"**All that's left is you," **Naruto said in a voice that almost made the ANBU wish had died seconds ago with his partners. He found his only way of escape. His hand slowly reached down to his kunai holster and slid out a newly sharpened weapon.

He held it up to the pink haired girl's throat and said, "Let me go or she dies." That was the last draw. Naruto jumped out of the tree and landed a half a foot behind the last ANBU and clawed his right arm that held the kunai off. The man screamed at the top of his lungs for two seconds before Naruto used his lengthened canines to bite the man's neck until he heard it crack. His body went limp, only Naruto still wasn't pleased. He attacked the corpse with his claws and dismembered the ANBU's entire body until he didn't even resemble a human anymore.

Slowly, his raged died down. He had a sick feeling in his stomach as his features went back to normal (for his half-breed state). Soon the blonde slipped into a blissful state of unconsciousness. Once he was out, his pink haired friend awoke. She spotted a blonde blob right in front of her. The strong scent of fresh blood reached her nose as she emptied her stomach on the tree branch they were on. She looked back to the blonde.

"Naruto-kun?" she almost whispered. She received no response. Sakura tried to stand up to get him to the hospital, but fell back down. She felt helpless as she saw all of the burns that covered her blonde friend's body. Sakura tried to stay conscious, but couldn't, her body hurt too much. Soon Naruto was joined by his friend in the world of unconsciousness.

**oOoOo**

'_I see...maybe you just are the next wielder of the Sazeto_,' thought a certain blindfolded man that stood amongst the trees. He jumped down and carried the two ninja off to the local hospital. '_Just maybe._'

**oOoOo**

**A/N: **Back again! Sorry I didn't update yesterday and for this chapter's shortness, I had to come up with a few brief things for the plot of this story. By the way, that was my first fight scene. I know it went by quickly, please let me know what you thought of it. Hope you liked it. Please read and review. 'Till next time.

Zashire-hime


	4. What Happened?

**Disclaimer: **Ah, sorry about forgetting the 'Haha! You can't sue me!' crap in the first three chapters. Heh heh. Well, here it is. I don't own Naruto, but I _do _own Raiden, Genido, the sword Sazeto (had to include that), and...more that will come in later. Now, on with the story! Off to go put the disclaimer up in the first three chapters.

Wielder of the Sazeto

Chapter 4: What Happened?

By: Zashire-hime

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

'_Huh? What's that noise?_' Still in the abyss of darkness, the blonde ninja continued to question.

_Beep. Beep._

'_Ah...a hospital...HOSPITAL!? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!?_' He had one hundred percent no clue as to why he would be there. All he remembered was chasing the ANBU that had Sakura...and then, blank. He could recall being at the weapon shop with the blindfolded dude talking about the sword. He could also remember hearing a loud boom a few blocks down, and running off to see what happened, but when he entered a clearing in the forest, it was like the memory part of his brain shut down. All he could feel was pure rage along with seeing a few glimpses of red. '_Red? Red! RED!_'

It had to involve the Kyuubi, but wasn't he only supposed to be called forth in a life or death situation? Why would chasing after someone count as life or death? He'd get his answers later, but for now, he had to leave the emptiness of his mind.

Slowly, he cracked an eye open about half way, but shut it immediately. '_Why must hospitals be so white? Why can't they paint it something like orange? Only a duller shade._' Yep, it was official, hospitals sucked.

Deciding to try again, he used most of his will power to ignore the blinding light of the white ceiling that he was about to face. He managed a crack a first, and then slowly lifted his eyelid even higher until his right eye was fully open. Step one: complete. Now to get his left eye open. He managed that a whole lot easier since his right eye had already adjusted itself to the brightness.

Soon the blonde had both his eyes opened, but wished he hadn't. In front of him was his friend, the cherry blossom, with two casts on. One was on her left leg, while the other was on her right arm. That wasn't what bugged him as much as seeing her face as well as the rest of her body. She was a mess. Cuts and scrapes in various locations that seemed to be what medical jutsu couldn't heal. She also had a big yellow-black bruise that covered most of her face. The blonde couldn't stand seeing his friend like that. Whoever did that to her was going to pay dearly.

**oOoOo**

"ACHOO!!" was the sound from the deceased bear-masked ANBU. "Hmm...I must be pretty famous to have somebody talking about me while being in the afterlife..."

"It's probably the blonde idiot," snickered his partner.

"Gah! Why can't he leave me alone! First I'm beheaded. Now, I'm sneezing my ass off, all thanks to him," the bear-masked ANBU muttered with over dramatic tears streaming down his face.

**oOoOo**

Erm...back to the situation at hand...

A brown haired nurse was making her local rounds from room to room at the local Wave hospital. She checked her clipboard and thought, '_Yes! One more room to go! I'm so tired!_'

Opening the door, she dropped said clipboard and stared at the sight before her. Blonde ninja + awake does not compute. "You're supposed to be out for at least a week! Not a day!"

Naruto cringed at the volume level of the nurse which reminded him of an angry Sakura. '_Don't want to go there!_' he reminded himself after the bruise he received last time that he pulled something stupid. He sulked remembering how the Kyuubi refused to heal him and was laughing his ass off at the size of the bump on the blonde's head. '_Stupid fox._'

"How are you up so early?" the nurse asked, completely puzzled.

"Umm...quick healing abilities?" he responded. Doing what he always did in these situations, changed the subject. "How is she doing?" he asked, indicating the girl to his right.

"Oh...she'll be fine. Nothing life threatening," the nurse explained. "By the way, what are those behind you? Are they..."

'_Not again!_' the blonde thought, covering his ears up.

'...Tails? I've never seen that before. Where's the cute little animal?" she asked, walking around the bedside. "They're YOUR'S!?" The poor nurse dropped to the ground, unconscious.

"Well, that went a bit better than expected...heh," his talking came to a stop when he heard another person walking down the hallway.

"Sana? Are you okay? I heard you-AHH!!" she screamed at the sight of Naruto walking over to hide in the bathroom. He was caught dead center. "What are you?"

"Err...a human," he said as if it were written on his face. Apparently no one in this town had ever seen a human with tails before. '_More like half-breed._' He sighed as the nurse ran out of the room. '_Better get Sakura-chan and head out._'

He walked over to the pink haired girl's bed and knelt down. '_Hmm...two broken limbs. Cuts. Bruises. She'll be fine._' He didn't want to cause her anymore pain, but the hospital was really starting to get on his nerves. So with that, he slipped his right arm under her mid-back, and then slipped his left arm under her knees to ultimately carry her bridal style. She groaned a little bit and snuggled up to the warmth radiating off of Naruto and fell back into a full state of unconsciousness. The blonde gave a warm smile down to her and staggered over to the window.

He felt like being creative and used his tails to open the window, so he could have a clear exit. Naruto jumped up to the windowsill and leapt out the window.

He raced from rooftop to rooftop, all the while heading in the direction of Tazuna's house. The blonde noticed that the bridge was visible from the hospital and smirked a bit. This was the place where he belonged. No one yelling, threatening, or harming him in any way. Nope. Here he was viewed as a regular human and not as a demon as the Hidden Leaf Village liked to call him. He had never felt more at home than he did at Wave.

The blonde sighed once more. He had to get Sakura to Tazuna's. So with that, he continued on his way, again.

After five or so more minutes of traveling, he came upon the house he was looking for. He knocked several times and waited. Tsunami came to the door and gasped when she saw Sakura.

"What happened to her?" asked a worried Tsunami.

"Well, you see..." he then explained the little adventure at the hospital, and why he brought the cherry blossom to the bridge builder's house. The woman sighed.

"Okay, well you better bring her up to the room where she was staying. I was worried when I received the news that you two were hospitalized yesterday. I didn't know something this bad happened because my father chose not to go into any details," said Tsunami, her look turning downcast.

"Oh, I'm sorry for worrying you so much, Tsunami-san. I was protecting my friend Sakura from some ANBU that had kidnapped her," Naruto apologized.

"You don't have any reason to apologize, Naruto! She's your friend! You did the write thing! Come on in and put her down. You look really tired," the older woman said, helping him carry Sakura to the stairs.

"I'll get her from here. Thank you, Tsunami-san," the blonde thanked her. She nodded her head in acknowledgement.

"Not a problem. Just let me know if you need anything. I'll send Inari to get you when dinner's ready," Tsunami replied before walking away. Naruto's head followed her retreating form until she turned a corner. Then, his head turned back to Sakura.

'_Okay, Sakura-chan. Time to get you back to bed._'

He carefully carried her up the stairs, taking one step at a time. When he reached the top, he turned to the right, in the direction of her bedroom. He opened the bedroom door with his tails, once again. The bed looked so comfortable, almost daring him to fall unconscious like his friend. He didn't dare do that for the fear of Sakura's wrath at finding him in the same bed as her. Not a good idea, he decided mentally.

He laid her down and whispered a 'good night' in her ear, and then tiptoed out of the bedroom. The blonde didn't forget to shut the door quietly rather than slamming it like he usually did.

An hour later, dinner was called. He stepped into the kitchen, and was greeted with a friendly sight. A dinner set up for four people. Tsunami was in the kitchen, getting some last minute things ready, while Inari and Tazuna were deep in a conversation with each other about random things that happened during their days.

Tsunami walked over and said, "Please take a seat, Naruto." He did so, and dinner commenced. He felt like he belonged to this family. _His _family. They talked for a while about different things, and before he knew it, the meal was over.

He climbed the stairs, and walked into Sakura's room to check up on her. Still out cold. He stayed there for about ten minutes, and was about to leave when the bridge builder appeared in the doorway.

"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?" he questioned the blonde.

"Yes. I know she wasn't injured as badly as she could've been, but she was injured nonetheless. I still feel like I could have prevented it somehow," Naruto replied, slightly saddened.

"What's done is done. There's no going back. If you must, train harder to protect your friend in the near future," said the old man.

"I know, it's just every time I train, it's never good enough. Someone always gets hurt because I wasn't strong enough to protect them," a few tears slipped down his face.

"You're only human, Naruto. You have your limits. You can't do everything. Just work harder than you ever have before," Tazuna said, trying to give the boy some encouragement.

"I will protect my friends. It's a promise! None of my friends will get hurt again because of me! I swear it!" the blonde shouted with nothing but determination gleaming in his eyes.

"Now there's the blonde idiot I remember!" exclaimed Tazuna. Naruto almost face faulted.

Regaining his composure, he thought for a moment, and then said, "Hey, Tazuna-san. I don't remember what happened during the fight. What was the outcome? Did the ANBU get away? Can you please tell me?"

"You don't remember!?" the blonde simply shook his head 'no.'

"Well, you apparently slaughtered all of the ANBU by beheading them," explained the bridge builder, grimly.

"I...killed...all...of the...ANBU?" the blonde beginning to get scared of his fox features. '_Damn it. If you did this Kyuubi, you're going to pay._'

**oOoOo**

**A/N: **Sorry for not updating sooner. Hope you guys liked it. That's all for now. See ya!

Zashire-hime


	5. Scrolls

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Naruto. I do own Raiden, Genido, the Sazeto, and...nothing else at this point.

**Note: **I'm going to fix the thing about Naruto's tails being made out of fire because it doesn't work to well. Just imagine a fluffy animal tail.

Wielder of the Sazeto

Chapter 5: Scrolls

By: Zashire-hime

"Hai," Tazuna said in response to Naruto's question about whether he killed the ANBU or not.

"How could that have happened!? I don't remember ever killing them! Every time I go Kyuubi, I at least have _some _sort of memory of what I did. When I fought Sasuke-teme at the Valley of the End, I used two of Kyuubi's tails to help me fight him, and I still have a perfect memory of what happened then," Naruto paused to think for a moment. "Maybe the more tails I have, the worse my memory is when using them. Even though my tails are solid and not chakra, they are still made of the Kyuubi's chakra, right?"

"That could be possible, but why the hell are you asking me? All I know about the fox is what you've told me! You're going to have to figure it out for yourself or wait until your girlfriend wakes up," said an annoyed Tazuna.

"Sorry bu- HEY! SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!!" the blonde shouted after realizing what the older man said. '_Though I may have been the one who hurt her._' That thought brought a small frown to his face. What if he was the one who hurt Sakura? How would he know? The blonde wanted to put the blame on the ANBU, but couldn't ignore the fact that he may have been the one to do it.

"Well you two sure act like it. Anyways, this whole thing with the damned fox shouldn't be something to lose sleep over; at least not for me. I'm off to bed," Tazuna said with a yawn. "When do you think you'll turn in, shorty?"

Even after all Naruto had done for this village, Tazuna still had the nerve to make fun of him. After he muttered something about 'stupid drunks' he replied, "I'm going to go work on some of the jutsu from the scroll Kyuubi gave me out in the forest. Knowing me, I'll probably end up sleeping out there like I did several years ago." Remembering some of that brought a grin to the blonde's face.

Tazuna gave a light snort. "Just don't kill yourself. I don't need your girlfriend worrying about you when she wakes up." After that, the old man used all the speed he could muster up in the span of .25 seconds to escape the barrage of kunai and shuriken that were hurled at him by one very annoyed jinchuuriki.

All Tazuna heard was the call of 'SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!!' before he reached the safety of his room. After slamming the door behind himself (remembering to lock it), he sighed trying to calm down from the near heart attack he had. Tazuna then walked over to his closet to get his night clothes on.

When he finished changing into his pajamas, a dark blue t-shirt with neon pink shorts that had little white bunnies on them, he walked over to his bed and lied down. The last thought that went through his mind before he went to sleep was: '_That blonde knucklehead is way too easy to tease, but he really needs to lighten up. Those weapons he used could have killed me!_'

**oOoOo**

Back in the room, Naruto was pulling his shuriken and kunai out of the wall with a sadistic grin on his face. '_Next time he pulls a stunt like that, these weapons won't miss!_'

When he finished pulling the silver weapons out of the wall, he walked over to Sakura to say another good night before leaving the house. He stopped a few feet away from her and smiled. The blonde unconsciously moved one of his tails over to the pink haired girl and watched as it stroked her face.

Sakura made a little yawn, which made Naruto almost jerk his tail away to save himself from the embarrassment if found them like this. Thankfully, he didn't move, but rather watched as the kunoichi snuggled her cheek up against his tail, which was now in between her head and the pillow.

They stayed like that for several minutes before the blonde decided he should go work on the jutsu from Kyuubi, or at least start reading about what they were. He reluctantly reached out toward Sakura to pull his tail out from underneath her head. When he was done slipping the tail, he looked down on her and noticed that her face was a bit brighter than usual at night thanks to the moonlight that was coming through the window. It pained him to know than he may have been the one who had hurt his friend the previous day. He felt a bit better at the sight of her peaceful face.

One thing he noticed was the fact that the only part of her face that didn't have any scratches or bruises on it was her forehead. '_You know, now that I think about it. That comment I made about her forehead while pretending to be Sasuke-teme really is true. She doesn't look ugly. She looks beautiful with it._' He noticed that she started to shake and roll around. The blonde assumed she was having a nightmare. So with that thought, he did something that he'd never imagined himself being able to do to anyone, much less Sakura. He leaned over whispering 'good night' and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, just staying long enough to see her visibly calm down. He then ran out the door faster than Yondaime could do Hiraishin no Jutsu, which was a very impressive feat.

Within a minute or two, he was leaning against a tall oak tree a ways into the woods surrounding the village. He was beet red at the thought of what he had just done. '_I kissed Sakura-chan!?_' It may have been only a peck on the forehead, but that was enough to make him almost pass out.

After taking several minute to settle down and regain his composure, he pulled out the red scroll from Kyuubi. Naruto noticed that his hand was by his kunai pouch, ready to pull out the pointed weapon to bring out some blood for the seal. Remembering he was a fox-hanyou, he opened his mouth and ran his thumb along one of his canine teeth before smearing it on the seal.

Seeing a little part of the scroll begin to open, he helped it by pulling on it to get it to fully open quicker. After rereading the fox's note to him, he noticed that the rest of the blood red scroll was blank. '_Damn fox. If he says he's going to give me some jutsu, he better keep his promise._' His anger with Kyuubi made the tips of his tails turn from bright orange to a dark red, meaning his chakra went up a notch temporarily.

When his chakra spiked, the scroll seemed to feel it and some more text appeared on it. The blonde noticed it after his little fit of rage towards a certain fox was over. It read:

_Hey kit,_

_Nice job on unlocking the scroll's first two jutsu. There we're only two ways I believed you would figure it out: 1. be smart enough and force some of my chakra into it, or 2. get angry enough at me for not keeping my 'promise' to teach you some more jutsu. I believe it was more the latter than the former. You know, sometimes you're so unpredictable you're predictable..._

_Anyways, here's how this is going to work. You will only be able to work on one jutsu at a time from this scroll (two in the beginning). I pretty much gave the first two to you because I think you need to learn something before you get into a fight and have no clue how to work you fox features. Be aware, it's only going to get harder to unlock these as you go along. They will unlock one by one based on when you are ready for them. Each one has a requirement you must meet before getting the privilege of learning it. The requirement will remain unknown to you until you do it. Don't think that I'm not being fair because at some point, I believe you will meet most if not all of the requirements that are needed to learn these jutsu._

_Before I finish, I would like to say that not all of these are jutsu, some are taijutsu styles, and others may be how to make a specialized weapon or something like that. You will know when you have mastered a technique because your name will be listed under 'users.'_

_With that said, here is your first two fox-hanyou jutsu..._

Naruto was really getting excited. Not only would he be learning new jutsu from this scroll, but also different ways to fight! He would also be learning not one, but TWO jutsu at the start of his training. Barely holding down a scream of 'YATTA!' he continued reading the scroll.

_Jutsu: Shippo Shinten (Tail Extension)_

_Class: D-rank_

_Type: Mid to Long-range_

_Users: None_

_Pre-requisite: None_

_Hand Signs: __Tori-Inu-Ne-Tora-Tori_

_Description: Allows the user to extend their tails. The more chakra that is put into it, the farther the tail extends. It is suggested to practice with different amounts of chakra so the user doesn't extend the tail too far or too short. Once mastery of extending the tail is achieved, the user may go further by learning to control the direction in which the tail goes when it extends. More speed may be added if the user has an affinity for wind. It is ranked D because it won't cause too much damage if another jutsu is not used with it._

_Jutsu: Rasengan no Shippo (Tail of the Rasengan)_

_Class: A-rank_

_Type: Mid to Long-range_

_Users: None_

_Hand Signs: Saru-Tori-Inu-Ne-Tora-Tori-Tatsu_

_Pre-requisite: Shippo Shinten (Tail Extension)_

_Description: In order to learn this technique, the user must first know Shippo Shinten no Jutsu. This technique forms a Rasengan on the tip of the user's tail, albeit larger than the original version for the fact that there are more tenketsu in the tail than there are in the body. This makes it easier for the user to control the chakra. Once the Rasengan forms on the tip of the tail, the tail will shoot out in the direction the user aims and attack the target. It is ranked A because Rasengan is ranked A. If the user learns to shoot their tail faster, they may up the rank to S depending on the speed._

After reading that, Naruto was in dreamland. He was already thinking of different attack combinations he could use in a real battle if he were to learn these jutsu. The blonde was also a bit curious as to how the Kyuubi came up with something involving the Rasengan, but then remembered that the fox had limitless access to his memories. Either way, he knew he would totally kick ass if he learned these. So without hesitation, he began reading the instructions on the Shippo Shinten no Jutsu.

An hour later, Naruto was beginning to get blurred vision because he had been reading mostly in the dark. He decided to try the jutsu once or twice before going to bed.

Making the Tori hand sign, he focused a fair amount of chakra into the tips of one of his tails. As he weaved through the hand signs at a steady pace, he concentrated on the chakra he had gathered when making the first hand sign for the jutsu. When he reached the last hand sign, he knew he was ready.

"Shippo Shinten no Jutsu!" the blonde called out into the night. Immediately, he felt his tail shoot out in front of him. He watched it go about ten feet, then return to back to its normal size. Now he was willing to yell out.

"YATTA!!" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs. He couldn't believe he had done the Shippo Shinten no Jutsu on his first try. Sure, it would need a lot of work, but he thought he was off to a great start.

After letting that burst of energy leave his system, he suddenly realized how tired he was. Almost collapsing on the spot, he decided that he would spend the night out there in the woods. He remembered that the scroll was still open, so he quickly rolled it up and watched as it resealed itself. '_I have to remember to ask Kyuubi how to do that stuff._' He put the scroll in his pocket before he lied down.

He looked up at the stars and let his thoughts wander aimlessly. '_I really wonder how I killed four men without even remembering it. It would make sense if I lost memory due to having too much power, let alone the Kyuubi's. Speaking of the battle, who the hell brought us back to the hospital anyways? It couldn't have been Tazuna-san or Tsunami-san because then only heard the news about it. They didn't see it first hand. Who brought us back then?' _With that last thought, the blonde drifted off to sleep.

**oOoOo**

The next morning, the sun peaked over the ridge of some hills and shown down on the woods where Naruto was sleeping. He woke up immediately for two reasons: 1. the sun was very bright, and 2. there was something licking his face.

He cracked his right eyelid open and noticed he was staring something in the eye.

"AHH!!" he shouted as he jumped into a sitting position. The animal leapt away in fright momentarily. He looked the animal up and down and saw things that reminded him of a certain someone: pointed ears, long nose, bushy tail, claws, canines, red fur...It was a fox. The red fur looked exactly like Kyuubi's which seemed a little odd.

'What are you doing out here? I mean I know you live in the wild, but it's odd waking up to a fox licking your face," he wasn't expecting an answer, but felt like stating his thoughts. Surprisingly enough, he got one.

"Lord Kyuubi sent me. It wasn't hard to find you because you smell like a fox. By the way, I'm Tsuki. You are Uzumaki Naruto-sama, correct?" the apparently female fox asked. Her only response was a dumb nod. "Well, nice to meet you then, Naruto-sama."

"Sama?" Naruto asked, snapping out of his shocked state of being.

"Hai. You outrank me in the fox levels and are my new master. Kyuubi sent me to help you in battle and hopefully as another companion," she grinned as best as any animal could.

"Uh...well then, nice to meet you too, Tsuki. But we should probably get back to that drunk's house now. It's almost breakfast time."

With that, the two ran off through the woods back to Tazuna's.

**oOoOo**

**A/N: **Sorry for the lateness! Hope you liked it!

Zashire


End file.
